The public sector has been involved in provision of various services in the UK. Some of these include education, health, banking, media, security and entertainment. Initially, the sector enjoyed monopoly due to lack of organizations providing the same services as well as reduced interactions between various government levels and jurisdictions (Hodges & Mellett 2003, pp 12-16). As a result, the sector compromised on the quality of services provided. Availability of the service became scarce, with the prices of products being determined by the government. There arose in equitability of the services. Eventually, other service providers entered the market. The new entrants came up with ways in which they would capture customers so as to cater for operating costs as well as make a profit. This facilitated efficiency in service provision. They would have to come up with strategies to increase the number of people using their services by exploiting opportunities the public sector had not been exploiting. The monopoly, therefore, was replaced by other markets. The market is now characterized by free entry of service providers and customers. Moreover, perfect knowledge of the market has been enhanced for both the customers and service providers. However, perfect market has not been achieved due to some organizations having added advantages over others. The public sector could be considered at an advantage due to the availability of resources from the government, and having the government making laws that govern the operation of the entire system. As a result, it could come up with laws that would favor the public sector (Prowle 2000, pp 43-48).
There are solutions dedicated towards solving the conditions presented by not attaining a perfect market. It is difficult for full achievement of this market. However, partial solutions could be sought, which would not be considered as optimal market solutions. Flynn (2012, pp 196) suggests that these less than optimal solutions are better than having no markets at all. There are various advantages that are associated with these solutions for the delivery of UK public services. The delivery of services could be categorized into privatization, where governments contract private investors to deliver services, and intermunicipal, where local governments contract each other to create a public market and gain scale in delivery of services (Waring & Bishop 2012, pp 172-178). The question arises in what ways the less than optimal market solutions have been of benefit to the UK services.
One of the merits could be explained in the public choice theory. It suggests that competition promotes market discipline to delivery of public service and concurrently preserving benefits of communal sector engagement. Economies of scale could occur under contracting. However, citizen voice and cross-jurisdictional equity could not be enhanced. The merit provides that since several organizations would be ready to offer the services, there needs to be appropriate provision of these in order to maintain loyalty form customers as well as city managers. This would ensure continuity in the association. Competition leads to organizations seeking for competitive advantage. This is the feature that will make them be attractive to customers. It would include reduction of cost of production in order to have the prices of services lowered, availability such that the services are availed to customers, customization so that customers get services according to individual tastes and preferences, advertising to create awareness and establishing a brand that they would be identified with (Bishop 2003, pp 140-142).
Calder (2008, pp314-315) describes efficiency as another merit that could be closely linked to benefits arising from competition. Lack of competition, as stated earlier, had led the public sector to be reluctant on providing quality customer services. Eventually, this has been changed, with providers working competently to enhance repeated provision. Efficiency leads to reduced costs of services. Some governments could be competent in an area while poor in provision of others. This could be due to availability of a certain resource that another jurisdiction has not been able to attain. Contracting enables the best service providing organization access another area of jurisdiction to administer the quality service in which it has expertise. Therefore, services are enhanced in their satisfaction to customers due to these less than optimal solutions.
Utility is another concept that is promoted. Some resources could be left unutilized if they are only directed towards satisfaction of needs in a certain small area. Contracting could allow the organization offer the services across a larger scope, and hence the resource is utilized better. For instance, a playfield could not be used for some days in a week. The markets provide that other functions from other jurisdictions could be done there. A fee would absolutely be charged. As a result, the hosting organization would benefit from revenue while others would benefit from accessing the facility they have not really acquired to themselves. The local government in London has been recognized as the most effectual local governments in the UK. This is due to its strategic recognition of the services that are most needed in the city at various times, and implement strategies to provide for others when need be. This has seen it exploiting several opportunities presented by the city, and maximize revenue as it reduces costs. This is due to utilizing resources when and where they are most needed.
Services are better provided at subsidized cost due to implementation of these less than optimal solutions. Some services in the public sector could be outsourced during times of emergencies and events. Fire outbreaks could be considered as one of the emergencies that would require collaboration of several service providers in order to extinguish it. Events, such as tournaments and Olympics, have had different jurisdictions and organizations involving in increasing some facilities for the short time these would take place. Some of the services that are collectively offered include transport, sanitary and accommodation services. Sometimes combining forces between organizations could be necessary to satisfy all the customers (Economics & No 2010, pp 1-9). Demand could sometimes rise temporarily. Governments would not have enough time and resources to satisfy this demand. Moreover, if it acquired resources to meet this temporary demand, these resources could either be disposed immediately after the events are over, or they could remain unutilized. This would not be cost effective to the governments. As a result, outsourcing where several providers combine the resources they have acquired over time and utilize them appropriately. The attractiveness of the UK in terms of political stability, financial position, strategic position and developed infrastructure allows for various conferences and sports to be held in the country. London, among other cities, acts as a host to these functions. This has been observed during international events in the UK where Olympics and World Cups are regularly held. Other governments could come in to assist accommodate thousands of visitors who come to the cities from all parts worldwide (Buckley & Pearce 1991, pp 29-36).
Equity is another theory that has been suggested to be one of the requirements in efficient public service provision. It encompasses excellent quality as well as availability of these services at all times. The provision requires a lot of resources to accomplish (Jost et al. 2005, pp 336-350). The resources are in terms of time, capital, equipment, and land. A single government could be unable to provide for all this at the required standards at all levels. As a result, the resources could be shared. There would be appropriate distribution as a result of this collaboration and markets that have led to equitability in distribution. In addition to equity being provided for, the solutions lead to customers having a variety to choose from. The organizations have differentiation. Each is recognized in providing a certain service in a specific way. For instance, one local government could be offering transport services using taxis while another uses buses. Although each of these ways provides solutions for transport problems, the varying ways could satisfy different tastes. A person could be interested in privacy and hence use a cab while another would not mind the interactions and hence prefer buses. This caters for various classes. However, the provision of this variety could not be arrived at if there are no solutions dedicated to promote markets in the public sector (Wright 2004, pp 254-259).
The less than optimal solutions have helped in improvement of services through application of the budget theory that promotes appropriate use of funds. Reduction in cost of provision of these services could be considered to lower as a result of the market introduced in the UK. There are selected those organizations that offer services at reduced costs (Hildreth & Khan 2002, pp 121-129). Customers would require subsidized costs for services. Gateshead is one of the regions that have had reduced costs of services due to these less than optimal solutions. The cost of gabbage collection has reduced (Agasisti et al. 2008, pp 1). There is need for both the governments and people to save. As a result, they would try to decrease the expenses they incur regularly and replace this with considerably lower prices. There are advantages which any organization or government would have over others in the market. The entry has been observed to have no barriers, as well as exit. Therefore, all sorts of service providers would be expected to penetrate the market. This consequently results into each provider wishing to be identified as the best provider of a specified service. The uniqueness each is identified with provides for being established, which makes the organization acquire competent resources. Moreover, they would research on these areas to know adequate information about it. For instance, one organization is known for provision of sanitary services. It would acquire enough information in the area to know in which ways it could minimize costs it incurs when providing this. Research would additionally lead to the organization having improved technological devices. Training of workers in the specific field makes them competent in delivery of services. The organization will be renowned by several jurisdictions, which further leads to the organization having increased opportunities for exploiting its service provision. The collection of these aspects leads to the organization subsidizing costs yet being competent. As a result, there is satisfaction of all stakeholders involved in the public sector (Hadi & McBride 2000, pp 552-570).
Public sector leadership theory implies that the public sector management should observe accountability and transparency just like other private organizations and corporations. Leadership leads to appropriate management of all resources. The less than optimal solutions have enabled leadership to be effective, and hence the services. Interjurisdictional competition leads to customers advocating for quality service provision. Local governments that give poor services would receive pressure from civilians. This is due to customers being dissatisfied with the service as compared as what others in different jurisdictions have. The pressure induced lead to the governments going for appropriate measures in the market. The participation of other governments could vary. Others could provide raw materials for production, others would administer the service themselves while others could supplement with other additional services. Whichever way the local government would choose, it would not be available without the solutions being in place. These have allowed for the other governments to be consulted for help. This has further seen these services been provided with almost the same quality all over the country. People can, therefore, benefit from having services offered in urban areas being available in all parts of the country (Kelly 2007, pp 1003-1022).
Network theory has further been promoted by the less than optimal solutions. The solutions have also led to governments and organizations promoting each other and so are services. There are various services that require one to collaborate with other industries within the public sector. One of the outstanding collaboration is between St. Helens and other Merseyside authorities, where they cater for all services when need arises (Agasisti et al. 2008, pp 1). Manufacturing industry would be promoted as governments and organizations try to come up with innovative machines for enhanced service provision. Media could benefit by advertising that needs to be done to popularize governments and organizations. Sporting activities provision promotes accommodation services and transport sectors within the public sector. The banking industry in the UK is one of the industries that have been substantially promoted due to its crucial contribution to circulation of money. Development of one kind of service to serve as many people as possible could hence be considered advantageous to others. Increase in economic activities has eventually led to circulation of money within the different public sectors. As a result, there is income earned by people working with the various organizations and governments. There would probably be additional income to those already working, promotions and employee retention; hence professional growth of workers in the organizations. The governments get additional revenue from the circulation. Employment opportunities are increased. Reduction in unemployment and increase in productivity among organizations leads to national economic growth. Therefore, the public sector could have the solutions be considered effectual and resourceful to both the UK central governments as well as the several local governments (Burgess & Ratto 2003, pp 285-300).
Financial management theory is another theory provided for by the less than optimal solutions. It dictates that public funds should be managed well without misappropriations and frauds. The markets ensure the theory is heeded to by promoting voice and democracy. Political theorists feel that democracy could be easily achieved in the local governments due to the closeness of people to their representatives, unlike the central governments where it would be difficult for ordinary citizens to access their administrators. Civic engagement in decision making processes involving service delivery could increase democracy and promote the community’s well-being. Markets incorporated in service provision could enhance citizens’ voice by enhancing consumer sovereignty. Although contract markets lack elements of debate and protection of whistle-blowers, the initial decision to have contracting effected would highly depend on civilians as they would be considered in deciding on how services could be best provided. Both delivery decisions and policy decisions involving services continue to be under public control under cooperation. Cooperation involves unofficial coalitions of technical managers and elected officials. In some other local governments, cooperation is formal. The collaboration of the public has eventually led to the governments observing transparency and accountability of resources (Lapsley & Oldfield 2001, pp 523-543). This has consequently made the governments avoid fraud and financial scandals. Markets allow for comparison, which makes service provision consistently provided at considerable costs (Agasisti et al. 2008, pp 1).
The public sector benefits from the services by having a variety of sources from which it can get some specified resources. Coombs & Jenkins (2002, pp 132-137) suggest that one of the most essential resources in the public sector includes capital. This is the money needed to purchase equipment, research or initiate any operation. This could be scarce in a government due the many activities in which it involves. For instance, there could be an emerging issue like epidemic that requires provision of certain equipments in hospitals in order to be prepared to handle some abnormal cases. Governments could sometimes not have liquidity, which means they do not have money at hand that they could use in purchasing these. As a result, they go out to creditors which could be in the public sector too, or private investors. The solutions provide for a variety of these creditors. There are differing terms and conditions in the awarding of this money. The organization offering the most favorable terms could be considered the one from which some loan could be sourced. This has been observed lately in the UK, where the public sector is expected to borrow a lot of money during the current quarter of the year due to increase in expenses without a corresponding increase in revenue. The Office of National Statistics observes that the public sector borrowing amounted to 15.4 billion pounds. This amount is outsourced from various organizations (BBC News 2013). Another service that is commonly outsourced by the public sector in the UK is security. G4S is a company that is recognized for its various security services like parcel delivery, transport of excessively valuable items, security guards and alarm response systems. The local governments need these services due to the activities in which they involve. Offices need to be guarded in order to have secure storage of information. Some prominent people in these governments need to be guarded. Therefore, the solutions could be considered to facilitate availability of some services. Economically, outsourcing of some services could be advantageous to any organization. This is due to the long term expenses an organization would have to meet, like retirement benefits. Outsourcing is also economical because it would not affect the liquidity of the governments. Unlike providing some services on its own that would require it to use a lot of capital to initiate, the governments only need to have small regular amounts of money to compensate for the services rendered. This further relates to the utility advantage, where the governments would not have standing expenses even when some are not needed at the term. Salaries and wages are constantly paid, yet sometimes the department in which these individuals are is only used for a short time. Consequently, cost is reduced in the long term by outsourcing (Rees & Gardner 2007, pp 169-184).
The services offered in the UK have further benefited from these less than optimal solutions by being one of the highest quality services available in worldwide. When each service is promoted individually, they collectively form a system which makes the entire nation have the attractive services offered everywhere. This leads to promotion of all the sectors in the country. This has led to a growth in the economy since investors and customers are confident in the effectiveness of these services. The services, therefore, continually increase opportunities among each other. Expansion has seen them go into other countries. For instance, medical services have been extended to other countries that are less privileged in terms of medical technology, personnel and capital. Another service that has been extended to other parts of the world includes educational services. There are various scholarship opportunities offered by the government to financially challenged but brilliant children. The abundance in these has made the services be epitomized in other countries, and used as the benchmark (Xie et al. 2011, pp 211-214).
Some recommendation could be made concerning the entire public sector and markets. A number of reasons attribute to the perfect market being achieved in all activities involved in the public sector. One of the fundamental reasons include lack of homogeneity of products due to each producer wishing to make a unique product in order to differentiate it from others and capture a large customer base. Unequal accessibility to various resources has led the producers into having different prices for their services in order to make up for cost of production incurred. Therefore, the public sector is not exceptional in the markets involved in provision of services. The measures put in place to ensure some aspects of perfect market can be achieved are implemented. These have led to several advantages to the public sector in the UK, as evidently observed. The advantages include social, political and cultural elements being taken into consideration. Interrelation among governments has been seen as they combine ideas to have efficient use of resources as well as solutions to problems that could be facing each individually or a group of them collectively. These advantages could lead to the recommendation that the solutions can be adopted in other governments that do not practice them (Kuhlmann 2008, pp 573-596).
There are a few conclusions that could be arrived at. Interdependence is one of the things the public sector would not do without, either within itself or outside. Effective associations in the market could lead to satisfaction of all stakeholders. Some benefit with getting income, some would benefit from having services availed proximal to them while others would benefit from national economic growth. Each organization could be competent in provision of a service while poor in providing in another. However, the markets have given a chance for quality services to be outsourced, and hence there is equitable distribution of quality services. Considering the merits of the less than optimum solutions for the delivery of services in the UK public sector, they would be concluded to be effective and better than their nonexistence.
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